Salford house fire: Two men found guilty of murdering four children

Walkden house fire: Two men and a woman have been found guilty over the petrol bombing

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Lia Pearson was rescued from the burning house, but has now passed away

Her mother, Sandra Lever, said yesterday that due to “unforeseen medical circumstances” her daughter could not attend, but she left a heartbreaking tribute for her beloved children.

She described the children as "so close", adding: "They were the twinkle in my eye, now they are angels in the sky.

“One day we will be reunited together forever."

Hundreds of mourners dressed in blue and pink lined the streets.

SWNS

TRAGIC: Mourners carry the coffins for four siblings killed in a firebomb arson attack(Pic: SWNS)

The children's specially made coffins, including a pink Peppa Pig one for little Lia and a My Little Pony one, were carried past in a horse-drawn carriage in age order, with oldest sibling Demi in front.

The procession made its way past Bridgewater Primary School, where Lacie and Brandon were pupils, for a minute's silence held by their friends before ending at St Paul's Church.

Firefighters formed a guard of honour before the cortege arrived for the funeral service.

The children were carried into the church to Ariana Grande's cover of Somewhere over the Rainbow, as the firefighters who tried to save them formed a guard of honour outside.

SWNS

PROCESSION: Hundreds of mourners lined the streets for the four children(Pic: SWNS)

HEARTBREAKING: Brandon, Lacie and Lia all died in the house fire(Pic: PA)

SWNS

(Pic: SWNS)

Mrs Pearson's son Kyle, 17, had been involved in a feud with Bolland over damage to his £200 car, prompting a series of tit-for-tat attacks.

In CCTV images Bolland, Worrall and Brierley looked as if they had not a care in the world as they were pictured by an in-store camera snapping up two boxes of Budweiser beer at an off-licence in the city in preparation for the attack.

The group appeared to shared a joke with staff and fellow customers before an unsuspecting cashier even gave Worrall a friendly “fist bump” as they left the store.

But within minutes, two of the bottles had been turned into deadly molotov cocktails to firebomb the family home of Kyle Pearson who had been in a feud with Bolland.

PA

HOUSE FIRE: Demi was seen at the window of the smoke-filled property before she died(Pic: PA)

PA

MONSTERS: David Worrall, Zack Bolland and Courtney Brierley were all convicted of arson(Pic: PA)

CCTV images captured Bolland and Worrall filling up a petrol can at a Texaco fuel station before arriving at the property in Walkden.

The two men then removed a fence panel from the garden of the Pearsons' home, smashed a kitchen window and tossed in two lit petrol bombs.

One landed near the stairs, blocking the only exit to the ground floor and trapped the occupants as they lay asleep inside.

Kyle, 16, managed to escape out of an upstairs window but his siblings Demi, Brandon and Lacie, sleeping in a front bedroom, perished in the flames.

Mrs Pearson had made a series of complaints to police and her housing provider Salford Council, asking to be moved.